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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29662875">Forces of Gravity</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viari/pseuds/Viari'>Viari</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Enter the Foreign &amp; related stories [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, Brothers, Challenge Response, Chaos Twins, Dark Romance, Denial of Feelings, Drama, F/M, Introspection, Jedi/Sith romance, Lord Space Byron, One Shot, POV Allana Solo, POV Original Character, Possibly Unrequited Love, Romance, Sequel, Sibling Rivalry, Snark, Twins, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vignette, bastard with a crush, super evil chaos twins of evil</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:54:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29662875</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viari/pseuds/Viari</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how hard you fight it, gravity always wins.</p><p>Or,<br/>Allana Djo Solo is supposed to protect a guy, and Darth Festus is supposed to kill him. This is probably not going to end well.</p><p>Alternate universe, 55 ABY, one-shot, drama, introspection, unrequited love, action, angst.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allana Solo/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Enter the Foreign &amp; related stories [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Forces of Gravity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Set one year after <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27987375">Where the Waves Shatter</a>. Takes place in between some of the events of <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28413609">What If This Storm Ends?</a> </p><p>Written in response to a challenge. I had to include these two elements: a "dare" and someone's "ex". It worked out better than I thought it would. :P</p><p>Thank you to Gabri_Jade for her incredible support and beta work!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p><br/>
</p><p>
    The pair of Sith Lords stands on top of a rocky hillside, a vast wasteland
    of scrap metal and barren earth at their backs and Ord Mantell’s bustling
    capital city stretched out before them. These Sith are human brothers –
    twins, in fact. They aren’t identical, but they share the same dark brown
    hair and pale blue eyes, and in poor lighting it would be easy to confuse
    one for the other. The shorter of the two holds a pair of macrobinoculars
    to his eyes, watching with interest as a small starship descends toward a
    landing pad far below them. His brother – broad-shouldered and not quite a
    head taller than him – is looking out at the adjacent coastline, a smug
    grin twisting his lips as he watches the rolling ocean waves.
</p><p>
    “Look,” Darth Ferrus says, nodding toward the water. “It’s a beach.”
</p><p>
    Darth Festus lowers the macrobinoculars and turns his head in his brother’s
    direction, eyes sweeping the debris-lined coast beyond him. He arches an
    eyebrow at Ferrus. “You’re hilarious.”
</p><p>
    “I just figured you like beaches so much, no matter how hellish they are—”
</p><p>
    “Are you seriously still going on about that?” Festus laughs under his
    breath and raises the binocs. “I made <em>one</em> comment. You’re really
    never going to let it go?”
</p><p>
    “Nope, never. I have to take what I can get with you.”
</p><p>
    Festus laughs again. “Fair enough.” Through the lenses, he sees a man
    descend the open ramp of the docked starship. Young and human, with dark
    skin and black hair and a lightsaber bouncing against his hip. Familiar,
    too. Festus squints a little, trying to place him.
</p><p>
    Right. Now he recognizes him.
</p><p>
    “Looks like your guy was right about the Jedi being called in,” Festus
    says, glancing over at his twin.
</p><p>
    “Someone we know?”
</p><p>
    He can’t help smirking a little. “One of your old friends.”
</p><p>
    Ferrus gives him a withering stare.
</p><p>
    “Your little sidekick from way back, whatshisname. Ames.” He passes the
    macrobinoculars to his brother. “Hey, didn’t he beat the hell out of you on
    Vjun?”
</p><p>
    “Hey, let’s talk about <em>all</em> the ways we nearly died that day. How
    about when that one Jedi tossed you across the room like a ragdoll, then
    nearly throttled you to death? Wasn’t that fun?” Ferrus rolls his eyes and
    turns his attention to the binocs. He adjusts the settings, then lets out a
    faint chuckle. “Wow, speaking of which…”
</p><p>
    Festus looks back and forth between his twin and the distant landing pad.
    “What?”
</p><p>
    Ferrus hands him the binocs. “Look who else is here.”
</p><p>
    Festus takes the binocs and raises them to his eyes – and then he sees her.
</p><p>
    She’s got her eyes glued to the datapad in her hand, sidestepping piles of
    droid and starship parts as she makes her way to the edge of the landing
    pad. With her copper-colored hair pulled back in a loose braid and draped
    over one shoulder, she looks pretty much the same as she did the last time
    he saw her. A bit less windswept and waterlogged, sure, but still just as—
</p><p>
    <em>Yeah, </em>
    he tells himself,<em> don’t need to finish </em>that<em> thought.</em>
</p><p>
    He knows his brother is waiting for a reaction. He can feel Ferrus’s dark
    amusement – along with a hint of his typical irritation – licking at the
    edges of his thoughts, blending uncomfortably through their twin bond with
    Festus’s sudden anticipation. He holds the binocs still, watching Allana
    Djo as she walks next to her Jedi companion. Her <em>male</em> Jedi
    companion. Tall, good-looking, keeps stealing furtive glances at her
    whenever she looks the other way…
</p><p>
    Not that he cares.
</p><p>
    He’s pretty sure he never liked Geridan Ames.
</p><p>
    He hands the macrobinoculars off to his brother again without looking. “I
    guess we both get a challenge today.”
</p><p>
    “That’s it?”
</p><p>
    Festus shrugs. “We’ve got a job to do, don’t we? I’ll take out the target
    and deal with Her Royal Jediness, and you can go get some payback for
    Vjun.” He reaches for the duffel bag at his feet and opens it, examining
    the blaster rifle inside. “Was this really necessary?” he says, glancing up
    at his twin.
</p><p>
    “You never know. Could be useful.” Ferrus takes the bag from him and slings
    it over his shoulder. “How long before the target arrives?”
</p><p>
    Festus digs his chrono out of his pocket and glances at it. “Twenty
    minutes. Plenty of time.”
</p><p>
    They begin their trek down the hillside, taking a winding path toward the
    landing pad to avoid being seen. About three-quarters of the way there,
    they duck behind a rocky outcropping, assessing the situation on the
    landing pad.
</p><p>
    “They’re still waiting,” Festus says, looking for any sign that the Jedi
    have picked up on their presence.
</p><p>
    “Just the two of them, huh?” Ferrus clears his throat and waits a second
    before continuing. “You think they’re <em>together</em>, together?”
</p><p>
    “I think I’ll defer to your expert opinion on that one, brother.”
</p><p>
    Ferrus nudges him hard in the shoulder. “I dare you to ask her.”
</p><p>
    Festus rolls his shoulders and stretches his neck, first one way, then the
    other. “Please. You call that a dare? I could do that in my sleep.”
</p><p>
    “I bet you could,” Ferrus says in a sly tone. He pauses just long enough to
    let the comment settle awkwardly between them. “Fine, I dare you to fight
    her with one hand behind your back.”
</p><p>
    “Your estimation of my skill is truly flattering. If I didn’t know better,
    I’d think you were trying to get me killed.”
</p><p>
    His brother crosses his arms over his chest and smirks. “Then I dare you to
    tell her how much you’ve missed her.”
</p><p>
    Festus returns the smirk with one of his own and laughs. “I dare you to not
    be the idiot who gets knocked unconscious during your little rematch.”
</p><p>
    “I dare you to kiss her.”
</p><p>
    Whatever clever retort he might have been planning, it’s gone now, swept
    away by Ferrus’s words. His eyes snap up to meet his twin’s icy gaze, and
    he feels suddenly warm – feverish, almost. “<em>What?</em>” he says.
</p><p>
    Ferrus’s voice lowers to a growl as he leans in close. “You heard me.”
</p><p>
    <em>—weak, weak, weak, weak—</em>
</p><p>
    Without thinking about it, without even meaning to, he pulls back from
    their bond, reaching for the mental wall he has built up over the years—
</p><p>
    “Don’t even <em>think</em> about it,” Ferrus says through clenched teeth,
    grabbing him by the front of his jacket. “You don’t get to do that. You
    don’t shut me out when we’ve got a job to do.” He shakes his head and lets
    out a dark laugh. “You think I haven’t already seen? How stupid do you
    think I am, brother? I’ve been in your head enough times to know exactly
    what you’re thinking.”
</p><p>
    Festus glares up at him. “I doubt that.”
</p><p>
    “Don’t be an idiot. You know we work better when we’re connected. And if
    we’re going up against two Jedi, we’ll <em>need</em> that connection, more
    than ever.” His brother lets go of him and takes a step back. “So get your
    head on straight.” Ferrus nods abruptly in the direction of the landing
    pad. “Looks like the target’s approaching. You ready or what?”
</p><p>
    Festus inhales slowly, then exhales, allowing the feverish heat to flow
    through him, mingling with the fury his brother’s words incite. He lets
    every emotion and sensation travel across the cord that binds him to his
    twin, feeling Ferrus’s noise and judgment and brutality as together they
    become an ever-looping conduit of pain. It’s not a perfect circle; there
    are still places where they each deflect the other, still things they never
    allow one another to see. Festus is aware that his hidden depths far
    outweigh his brother’s, a fact which Ferrus will always resent. But
    resentment feeds the dark side, and the dark is all they need now.
</p><p>
    <em>Instruments of rage and violence and deceit,</em> he thinks.
</p><p>
    <em>
        —the slayer and the trickster, complementary opposites, which are you
        anyway, which are you—
    </em>
</p><p>
    He unhooks his lightsaber from his belt, looks up at his twin, and smiles.
    “After you, brother.”
</p><p><br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
</p><p>
    <em>That,</em>
Allana Djo thinks,    <em>was one of the most uncomfortable trips I’ve ever been on.</em>
</p><p>
    She glances up from her datapad at the young man standing near her. They
    haven’t exchanged more than a few cordial words since they left the
    enclave, and now the weight of his silence is beginning to press in on her.
</p><p>
    She knows she doesn’t have any right to complain, not when she’s the one
    who ended things between them. But before they were ever a couple, Geridan
    Ames was one of her closest friends, and it hurts that now they behave more
    like strangers around each other than people who’ve known each other for a
    decade.
</p><p>
    Why in the worlds Ben thought it was a good idea to pair them up for this
    mission, she will never understand.
</p><p>
    “I still think it’s a bad idea to do this so far out from the city center,”
    she says, breaking the silence.
</p><p>
    Geridan looks back at her and inhales deep. “Maybe. But these witness
    relocation officers are professionals, and they know the procedures better
    than we do.” He turns and surveys the landscape. “If this is how they want
    to do it, best to go along with it.”
</p><p>
    Allana follows his gaze, examining the terrain around the landing pad. On
    approach to coastal Worlport, she’d seen the famous Scraplands extending
    endlessly toward the northern horizon, just beyond the decently large and
    rocky hill she is facing now. Their landing platform is nestled at the base
    of that hill, with one side of it jutting out into open air, promising a
    sheer and lethal drop to the ocean below. There are plenty of places to
    hide on that hill, she thinks, and nowhere to retreat to quickly besides
    their ship, should someone try to ambush them.
</p><p>
    <em>It’s fine,</em>
    she tells herself. <em>Everything is going to be fine.</em>
</p><p>
    “Do you know why they requested us?” she asks, holding up the datapad. “I
    didn’t see anything about it in the file.”
</p><p>
    Geridan shifts uncomfortably, and she can’t tell if it’s because he doesn’t
    want to talk to her, or if he’s worried, too. “Maybe they know something we
    don’t.”
</p><p>
    “Like what?”
</p><p>
    He looks at her again. “Like about whoever’s hunting this guy. Someone more
    dangerous than a local crime boss, I’ll bet. Maybe they need a little Jedi
    backup.”
</p><p>
    She presses her lips together and nods. <em>It’s fine,</em> she tells
    herself again. <em>You’re a Jedi Knight, remember?</em>
</p><p>
    About ten minutes later, she hears a light engine whine and turns to see a
    small, open-cockpit shuttle approaching from the south. She allows herself
    a moment to wonder at the stupidity of transporting a valuable criminal
    informant in an open-cockpit <em>anything</em> before walking over the meet
    the shuttle.
</p><p>
    Geridan bows his head toward the officers escorting their charge, a thin,
    older Sullustan man with loose gray skin and the round black eyes typical
    of his species. “I’m Geridan Ames,” he says gracefully, “and this is Allana
    Djo. We’re here on behalf of the Jedi Council.”
</p><p>
    One of the officers, a human woman, nods in response. “Thank you for
    coming.” She reaches back to pull the Sullustan forward. “Best to get this
    one on your ship—”
</p><p>
    The shot is still ringing out when the officer falls to the ground, a
    smoking hole in the center of her blue uniform. Allana’s hand is already
    reaching for her lightsaber, activating it in time to deflect another shot
    aimed at the Sullustan’s head, but not quick enough to stop the shot that
    kills the other officer. Everything goes quiet for a moment, but she can
    sense something lurking at the edges of her awareness, a murky presence,
    something foreign yet familiar— 
</p><p>
    “Watch out!” she yells as a dark blur emerges from behind their ship.
</p><p>
    Geridan spins around, weapon igniting in time to deflect a blow from their
    attacker’s crimson lightsaber. Darth Ferrus doesn’t even pause as he
    barrels right into Geridan, pushing him back and away from her. She makes a
    move to go to him when she hears the deep hum of another saber activating
    behind her.
</p><p>
    “You’re just going to run off without saying hello?” she hears a familiar
    voice say. Her heart pounds as she turns to face him.
</p><p>
    Darth Festus stands less than two meters away, lightsaber drawn at his
    side, pale blue eyes boring into her with eerie intensity. He cocks his
    head to one side and arches one dark eyebrow. “That’s not very nice of you,
    Princess.”
</p><p>
    Allana brings her weapon up between them, her throat suddenly dry. The last
    time she’d seen him, he’d been flat on his back on the beach of Kordros,
    pummeled relentlessly by the surf. She’d scaled the nearby cliff as quickly
    as she could to get away, pausing for only a moment at the top to see
    whether he’d managed to break free of the waves. But the tide was violent
    that day, and it dragged at him, giving her time to escape. She can only
    imagine how furious that must have made him.
</p><p>
    The look he gives her is almost admonishing. “Nothing? I’ll be honest,
    Allana, I’m a little hurt.” He spreads his arms at his sides and smiles,
    bowing his head slightly. “Your move.”
</p><p>
    For a brief, ridiculous moment, she considers telling him that she doesn’t
    want to fight, as if that could somehow sway him. As if he could possibly
    give a damn that she’d intervened for him, once. She’d wondered back then
    if she might regret her decision one day. Deep down, she knows it was the
    only one she could possibly make – the only one that was right, regardless
    of whose side the two of them were on or which code they each chose to
    follow. Still, it’s a little hard to argue the merits of mercy when facing
    down a crazed Sith Lord who still wants her dead.
</p><p>
    He’s watching her closely, a peculiar smile quirking his lips. “Tell you
    what,” he says, lowering his weapon a fraction. “Give him to me, and I’ll
    leave you alone.”
</p><p>
    Her eyes go wide. “What?”
</p><p>
    He shrugs, clearly thinking he’s proposed something entirely reasonable.
    “Hand the guy over, and I’ll leave.”
</p><p>
    She backs up a step, and he moves forward an equal distance. “I can’t do
    that,” she says, extending her arms on either side of her to block the
    Sullustan man.
</p><p>
    Festus shakes his head. “So stubborn.” He takes another step toward her,
    but she can’t move back without tripping over the man she’s supposed to
    defend. She stretches out with her senses, looking for Geridan, but he’s
    already too far away to help. Ferrus has driven him across the platform,
    trapping him against the base of the hill. Festus nods in their direction.
    “Don’t worry about your boyfriend, I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”
</p><p>
    Allana adjusts her stance, raising her lightsaber up to her shoulder. “I
    beat you before,” she says, “so don’t go thinking this will be easy.”
</p><p>
    The cocky grin falters for a second, so quick she’s not sure if she
    imagined it. “Like I said, Princess: your move.”
</p><p>
    She lunges forward, swinging from her shoulder, and he brings his saber up
    from his hip to meet it. Behind her, she feels the Sullustan’s terror as he
    runs for cover. Festus drives her back several steps from the force of his
    blows, and she wonders a bit absently if he’s gotten stronger since the
    last time they fought.
</p><p>
    <em>Doesn’t matter,</em>
    she tells herself, gritting her teeth. What’s Ben always telling her? It
    doesn’t matter how small she is or how powerful her opponents are; there’s
    nothing anyone can throw at her that she can’t knock down.
</p><p>
    “You know,” Festus says as their sabers clash again, “I’ve kinda missed
    this. Just you and me.”
</p><p>
    She sweeps her blade low, aiming for his legs. He counters quickly, and
    their weapons lock in place for a moment. She looks up at him, and he
    smiles back at her, the sort of smile that makes her feel like a tiny
    creature caught in a serpent’s gaze.
</p><p>
    Then he withdraws his left hand from his lightsaber hilt and tucks his arm
    behind his back.
</p><p>
    She doesn’t wait for an explanation or a taunt or whatever the hell else he
    has planned. She snaps her wrists up and to the side, forcing his saber in
    a wide arc. He recovers quickly, but with only one hand, his blocks are
    weaker, less controlled. They turn in a slow circle, lunging and parrying,
    blocking and evading, his movements growing increasingly dramatic even as
    hers become more focused.
</p><p>
    Then, her moment finally comes.
</p><p>
    She’s always suspected – somewhere way down deep, where she hardly dares to
    examine it closely – that he let her win on Kordros, or that something had
    stopped him from striking a killing blow when he had the chance. At first
    she was elated to have bested him, but later, when she played the fight
    over in her mind, she saw the weakness he should have exploited, and it
    gnawed at her.
</p><p>
    Not today. Today, she’s going to beat him for real. Even if he <em>is</em>
    stupidly fighting with one arm behind his back, she’s going to knock him
    down and show him she’s not afraid anymore.
</p><p>
    Their blades meet again, cerulean and crimson beams hissing as they vie for
    dominance. She pushes her arms toward the sky with all her strength, and
    then, with his center exposed, she draws her left hand from her weapon and
    plants it on his chest. His eyes snap to hers in surprise as she pushes
    with the full weight of the Force behind her, hitting him with a wave of
    energy. He crashes to the ground, and she flicks his lightsaber away with
    her own, sending it flying off to the side of the platform.
</p><p>
    She holds her saber over him, watching out of the corner of her eye as the
    Sullustan man peeks out from behind a cargo crate. Festus stares up at her
    in a sort of shocked amusement that she finds annoying but not at all
    surprising.
</p><p>
    “Get to the ship,” she says to the Sullustan without looking over. Her eyes
    are still on her opponent, not quite trusting that he doesn’t have some
    other trick up his sleeve. Strangely, his eyes widen just a little, and she
    feels the slightest tremor shudder across her senses.
</p><p>
    Then she hears Geridan scream out her name, and she realizes that the
    tremor in the Force is a shot ringing out, and why did it never occur to
    her that a Sith Lord might use a lightsaber and a blaster rifle at the same
    time? That thought takes only an instant, but blaster bolts are quick,
    sometimes quicker than Jedi reflexes can defend against, especially when
    the Jedi in question is distracted.
</p><p>
    She barely has time to react when something strikes the back of her ankles
    like a ramming rod. As her legs sweep out from under her and she falls
    backward, the laser from the blaster rifle singes her cheek; and then she
    lands hard on the ground, the impact forcing the air from her lungs. Before
    she can process what happened, before Geridan has even finished calling out
    her name, Festus is on top of her, pinning her down. His left hand locks
    around both of her wrists, holding them to the ground just above her head.
    He stretches his right arm out at his side, and his lightsaber flies into
    his hand, activating on contact.
</p><p>
    “You’re not trying to take the easy way out, are you?” he says with a
    growl.
</p><p>
    She doesn’t know what possesses her to answer when she should probably be
    scared half out of her mind, but she breathes in deep and glares up at him.
    “Never,” she says, trying to ignore the blistering pain across her cheek.
</p><p>
    His eyes leave hers for a moment, examining her face, lingering over her
    injury. “That’s a nasty burn, Princess. Might want to get some bacta for
    that.”
</p><p>
    Her eyes are drawn to the red-white core of his lightsaber, thrumming
    dangerously close to her head. “I’ll get right on it,” she says, swallowing
    hard. “Maybe you should let me go.”
</p><p>
    She sees him working his jaw as he stares down at her. “You know I can’t do
    that,” he says in a low voice, his head dipping close to hers; and she
    thinks suddenly how wrong it is for his eyes to be so very, very blue.
</p><p>
    “Worth a try,” she whispers back.
</p><p>
    He looks like he’s about to respond when his head jerks to the side, and he
    snaps his lightsaber up to defend himself. Geridan’s emerald blade crashes
    against it, sending it flying; and then her friend kicks Festus square in
    the chest, knocking him off of her. Before the Sith Lord can retrieve his
    weapon, Geridan hits him with a blast of energy so powerful, it sends him
    tumbling over the edge of the platform.
</p><p>
    Allana blinks as Geridan looks down at her, holding out a hand.
</p><p>
    “Come on, we’ve gotta go!”
</p><p>
    She grabs his hand and lets him pull her to her feet. As the world stops
    spinning, she looks around for the Sullustan man, only to find him sprawled
    facedown near the ship. Her heart sinks as she realizes it’s too late for
    him.
</p><p>
    Their more immediate concern is the pair of Sith Lords that wants to murder
    them. Allana’s eyes sweep the platform, lingering for a moment on the edge
    overlooking the drop to the ocean below. She turns and continues her
    search, finally spotting Ferrus’s crumpled form next to a shipping crate at
    the opposite end of the landing pad. “Dead?” she says, breathless.
</p><p>
    Geridan retrieves her lightsaber, pausing to look over at the body of the
    man they’d failed to protect. “Doubt it,” he says, pressing the saber into
    her hand. “Think I just knocked him out. We need to go, before they
    regroup.”
</p><p>
    She senses it then, a rush of animal rage far below them, desperate to claw
    its way back up to the landing platform. She shivers at the feeling before
    turning to follow Geridan back to the ship.
</p><p><br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
</p><p>
    He reaches the platform just as the Jedi starship disappears above the
    clouds. Breathing a bit harder than usual from the effort of the climb,
Festus stares up at the fading ion trail left in its wake.    <em>So close,</em> he thinks. He’s not even sure anymore what he was so
    close to, but he knows that he was.
</p><p>
    He searches the landing pad and the nearby hillside for any sign of his
    brother. Eventually he spots him, lying unconscious next to a rusting cargo
    container at the base of the hill. Festus makes his way over there,
    wondering how long it’ll be before his twin wakes.
</p><p>
    He leans against the crate and stares down at Ferrus, crumpled and bruised
    and pathetic. There’s a part of him that really wants to kick his brother
    in the ribs as hard as he can. Maybe more than once. Instead, he sits down
    next to him and waits.
</p><p>
    About fifteen minutes later, Ferrus stirs. It’s another couple of minutes
    before he’s able to drag himself upright, holding his head in his hands.
    There’s no blood on his face, although there are plenty of bruises
    beginning to form. He lets out a long groan, then turns his head in
    Festus’s direction. “The Jedi?”
</p><p>
    Festus shakes his head, and he feels his anger surge. “We had a plan. I was
    supposed to take care of the target and the princess. You were supposed to
    take care of her boyfriend.”
</p><p>
    His brother’s eyes narrow. “Plans change.”
</p><p>
    Rage unfurls in his chest. “You bastard—”
</p><p>
    “I’m <em>sorry</em>,” Ferrus says with an indignant sneer. “Is there some
    unwritten rule that says you’re the only one of us who gets to kill
    people?”
</p><p>
    “I was <em>handling</em> it.”
</p><p>
“Yeah? Well, this time you were too slow, brother. You must’ve been    <em>distracted</em>.”
</p><p>
    He stares into his twin’s angry blue eyes, feels his own fury rise to
    match. “You—”
</p><p>
    “I wasn’t aiming for her, you idiot.”
</p><p>
    Festus lets out a heavy breath, something twisting in his gut. “Like I’d
    care if you were. We had a plan.”
</p><p>
    Ferrus stares back at him. “And I had a shot, so I took it. Not my fault my
    aim is terrible.”
</p><p>
    “That’s <em>completely</em> your fault.”
</p><p>
    “Oh, come on, when exactly did we learn about blasters on Korriban?”
</p><p>
    Festus breathes in and out, slowly, and the rage settles. He studies his
    brother for a moment, looking him up and down. “So. You got knocked
    unconscious again.”
</p><p>
Instead of blowing up at him, Ferrus just nods. “Guess we both lost, huh?”
</p><p>
    Before he can stop himself, Festus lets out a sigh. “Yeah.” After a few
    more seconds of silence, he shrugs. “You killed the guy, at least. Even if
    the Jedi did take the body.”
</p><p>
    Next to him, his brother throws his head back and groans. “There goes our
    payment.”
</p><p>
    Festus shrugs again. “It was worth it, to see their faces when they failed
    so miserably.”
</p><p>
    Ferrus presses a hand to the back of his head. “Maybe for you. I think I
    have a concussion.” He lowers his hand and shifts slightly. “So… did you
    kiss her?”
</p><p>
    “Don’t be stupid.” The words are meant as a rebuke, but they lack any real
    force. He tilts his head back against the crate and stares up at the sky.
    “Like I was ever going to go along with one of your ridiculous dares.”
</p><p><br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
</p><p>
    Once the ship enters hyperspace and leaves Ord Mantell far behind, Geridan
    finally turns to her.
</p><p>
    “Are you okay?”
</p><p>
    Allana meets his gaze and notes the deep concern behind his brown eyes, and
    she thinks how strange it is that just a few months ago she probably would
    have been in his arms by now. How does that happen? One day everything is a
    certain way, and then suddenly it’s not, and everything is skewed, and—
</p><p>
    She sighs and offers him a tight smile. “I’ll live.”
</p><p>
    His eyes drift to the burn on her cheek, and for a second she thinks he’s
    going to reach out to touch her face. That second passes, and he shakes his
    head. “You could have died.”
</p><p>
    She smirks a little and raises one eyebrow at him. “Story of our lives.”
</p><p>
    “I’m serious, Allana.”
</p><p>
She blows out a frustrated breath. “What do you want me to say? I    <em>know</em> how close it was.”
</p><p>
    He closes one hand in a fist and hits it lightly against his thigh. “Look,
    it’s not a switch that I can just turn off. I accept that you don’t want to
    be with me anymore, but I can’t stop caring about what happens to you.”
</p><p>
    She hates this. She stupidly thought that breaking up meant things could go
    back to the way they were before, or at least that she wouldn’t have to
    think about him in the context of their relationship ever again. And it’s
    not that she doesn’t like him anymore or doesn’t want to be friends. It’s
    not that there’s anything <em>wrong</em> with him, or with what they had
    together. Stars, she still doesn’t even know why her feelings changed, and
    she hates it. She <em>hates</em> it.
</p><p>
    “I know,” she says gently. Then she frowns as she notices swelling around
    his left eye. “Are <em>you</em> okay? Ferrus isn’t exactly a lightweight.”
</p><p>
    He lifts a hand to his face. “What, this? This is nothing. I handled him
    okay.” Geridan shifts in his seat and turns away from her, focusing on the
    control panel in front of him. “It’s kind of scary how little he’s changed.
    You’d think becoming a murdering Sith Lord would twist him beyond
    recognition, but he’s not that different than I remember.”
</p><p>
    She can’t help her relief at the change in topic. “You knew him before?”
</p><p>
    “Yeah. We used to play together when we were kids.”
</p><p>
    She watches him carefully, wondering what else she doesn’t know about that
    time in his life. “I didn’t know you two were friends.”
</p><p>
    Geridan looks over at her and shrugs. “It was a long time ago, before the
    Academy was attacked.”
</p><p>
    Allana nods and turns her attention to the brilliant azure swirl of
    hyperspace. She’d never been to the Jedi Academy on Ossus, but many of her
    friends had lived there before it was destroyed. She hadn’t given much
    thought to the fact that Festus and Ferrus must have lived there, too. “I
    only have a few vague memories of them,” she says. “More like impressions,
    really. But I remember thinking Ferrus was a jerk. I can’t really picture
    you being friends with him.”
</p><p>
    Geridan blows out a slow breath. “We got into a fight not long after we
    were taken to the enclave. He punched me in the mouth.”
</p><p>
    “Why?”
</p><p>
    “I don’t know. I think I was just laughing at a joke or something funny,
    and he hauled off and hit me. I guess he was annoyed with me, maybe.”
</p><p>
    “That’s weird.”
</p><p>
    Another half-hearted shrug. “Yeah. I punched him in the nose, though, so I
    gave as good as I got at least.”
</p><p>
    Allana leans back in her chair and looks down at her hands folded in her
    lap. She thinks about asking if he’d known Festus, too, but she can feel
    his lightly simmering frustration – at Ferrus, at their failure to protect
    the Sullustan man, even in small part with her, despite his claim that he
    holds no resentment toward her – and she decides not to say anything more.
</p><p>
    “Come on,” Geridan says as he stands from his chair. “You should probably
    get some bacta for that burn.”
</p><p>
    She touches her fingers to her cheek, gently tracing over the edges of the
    burn. “Yeah,” she says quietly. “I’ll get right on it.”
</p><p><br/>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <strong>
      <em>Fin</em>
    </strong>
  </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
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